BEAR TAKES A TRIP

From the Stella Blackstone Bear series

Age Range: 1 - 4

Pub Date: May 1st, 2012ISBN: 978-1-84686-757-6Publisher: Barefoot

By bus and then train, Bear and his friend take one amazing vacation (Bear's Birthday, 2011, etc.).

Rhyming couplets describe Bear's preparations and travels. His friend joins him at the railway station, and the day passes by as the buddies travel toward their mountaintop destination. Whimsical paint, pen-and-ink and crayon designs provide bold splashes of color as the locomotive snakes its way along the coast. The text conveys their trip in straightforward fashion. “At long last the journey comes to an end. / Bear has a cabin and so does his friend.” The front endpapers provide an aerial map so children can see the progress of the journey. The book also tackles the concept of time throughout, and the concluding note offers a lengthy explanation that will sail over the heads of the board-book audience. A digital clock on the bottom right-hand corner of each spread tracks the schedule; analog clocks deftly placed within the pictures provide additional reinforcement. Adults will be astonished at how much these bears can do in just 10 1/2 hours.

Pass the time with one of the stronger offerings in this series. (Board book. 1-4)